Last.



No. 642,34I. Patented Jan. 30, I900. A. G. LEONARD 8. L. C. KENTON.

NrTED STATES PATENT Enron.

ARTHUR G. LEONARD AND LEVI C. KENTON, OF DE KALB, ILLINOIS:

LAST.

lSPECIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 642,341, dated January 30, 1900. Application filed February 28, 1898, Serial No. 671,935. (No modeL) To ttZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, ARTHUR G. LEONARD and LEVI C. KENTON, citizens of the United States, residing at De Kalb, in the county of De Kalb and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Lasts, of which the following is a specifica tion.

Our invention relates to lasts which are used in manufacturing and handling boots and shoes and is designed to produce a last which shall be capable of being easily inserted or withdrawn, as the case may be, and which shall be perfectly rigid and unyielding while in position. H

In making pegged, nailed, or McKay-sewed shoes, for which our last is designed, the upper, after the parts comprising it have been sewed together, is shaped upon the last and then the insole and the outsole tacked in position preparatory to fastening. With this class of work the last has to be withdrawn before the fastening on of the outsole and afterward reinserted and then remains in position until the shoe is completely finished, while with weltwork the last is not usually withdrawn until the shoe is completed. In both cases the last is essential in preserving the shape and relation of the parts during the numerous and varied treatments to which they are subjected. The lasts which were formerly used were perfectly rigid; but it was found to be extremely difficult to withdraw or reinsert them at any time without damaging the shoe. To remedy this, the lasts were jointed by means of a hinge or hinges inserted a little above and in advance of the front of the heel and an angular section cut out above the hinge, so that while the bottom of the last ordinarily presented an unbroken outline it became possible to bend the toe and heel upward and toward each other as much as might be permitted by the cut-out section, thus facilitating the withdrawal and insertion of the last. However, these lasts are unsatisfactory, as there is nothing to insure the last keeping its shape, except the stiffness of the hinge or hinges, and it is found that before a'shoe is finished the last invariably becomes bent somewhat, thus destroying the desired shape of the shoe and producing inferior work.

The object of our invention is to secure a last that shall have all the rigidity of a solid last'and at the same time the ease of insertion and withdrawal incident to the hinged last. To secure these desiderata, we oonstruct a last that is hinged at the same place and in substantiallythe same manner as an ordinary hinged last, but which has in addition thereto locking mechanism which serves to hold the heel and toe portions rigidly in position until it is desired to withdraw the last, when they are unlocked, permitting the hinge tobeoperated. Wepreferablyarrange this look to cooperate directly with the members of the hinge or hinges, although this is not essential. We also prefer to construct the look so that it may be operable only when placed upon the stand or last-withdrawingpin post to withdraw the last when the shoe is completed. We preferably construct the lock'so that it will be operated automatically when the last is placed upon the post and pressed down to break the last to permit its withdrawal.

To more fully disclose the nature of our invention and the construction which we at present consider best adapted to embody it,

we annex hereto a sheet of drawings, in which the same letters of reference are used to designate identical parts in all the figures, of which- Figure 1 is an elevation of the last in cen tral longitudinal section and in position upon its support ready to have the lock released, so that it can be withdrawn. Fig. 2 is a section, on a large scale, on the line2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the hinge and lock, the last in the position of Fig. 1, being considered as inverted. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the lock with the last in section and in its broken position. Fig. 5 is an elevation of the hinge member in which the latch or lock-lever is mounted, and Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the latch or lock-lever.

The toe portionA and the heel portion B of the last are of course of the customary shape. The heel portion may have the customary metallic heel-plate O, fastened in place by its rivets D and having the central lugE fitting into the lower end of the bore F, passing vertically through the heel portion and having in its upper end the thimble G, which is of a size and cross-section adapted to receive the pin H, projecting upward from the support J. We preferably make our hinge K of the cross-section shown in Fig. 2, as it becomes very easy to bore two slightly-overlapping holes in the heel and toe portions to receive this hinge, and this cross-section givesa maxi mum of support to the portions and prevents any torsional displacement. The toe member of the hinge has its knuckle portion slotted, as at L, to receive the cooperating blade knuckle portion M of the heel member. Both of these knuckle portions are substantially circular, except that both have notched portions, as at N and O, which together form a rectangular notch with which the head P of the latch Q cooperates. lVhen the head P of the latch Q is in position, as shown in Fig. 1, it will be seen that it absolutely prevents the breaking or yielding of the last under any pressure to which it maybe subjected, unless said pressure is applied directly to the latch to disengage it from the notch,when the last can be broken and operated, as seen in Fig. 4:. This latch Q is centrally pivoted in a channel R, centrally-cut in the under side of the heel member of the hinge, and is held yieldingly in engaging position by a spring S,which may be placed in any suitable position to effect its purpose, but which we preferably confine in the vertical bore T, passinginto or through the heel member of the hinge. The pins or rivets U pass through the hinge and last to hold them together. We may also conveniently employ the screw-bolt or rivet V, passin g through the heel-plate C and into thelower portion of the bore T. In case this construction is employed we may dispense with the rivet D adjacent to the hinge. As stated above, the apertures in the last for the hinge are easily bored out, it only being necessary to cut out in addition the notches at Wand X to accommodate the movement of. the latch Q. To release the lock, it is necessary to press the tail of the latch Q against the resistance of the spring S,and we preferably arrangeit so thatit is released when the last, with the shoe thereon, is put on the support J, and for this purpose we have the pin Y projecting upward from the standard J and arranged to enter the bore Z in the upper side of the last and to contact'with the latclrlever so as to operate it and release the last when the last is pressed down from the position of Fig. 1.

Of course it will be understood that our invention is capable of some modifications and that we do not desire to be limited to the exact construction shown and described, but only so far as may be necessitated by the state of the art and the terms of the following claims.

e claim- 1. Alast comprising the heel portion B, and

the toe portion A, with the hinge K consisting of the two pivotallyconnected leaves uniting said portions, the latch Q cooperating directly with the leaves of said hinge to hold said portions rigidly in their normal position, the spring S holding the latch in engagement with the hinge, and means for releasing the latch.

2. Alast comprising two members, a hinge composed of two pivotally-connected leaves rigidly secured to their respective members, and a movable lock cooperating directly with and reacting between the leaves of said hinge in its normal position to hold said members firmly in their extended position.

3. A last comprising two members, a hinge having its leaves rigidly secured to the respective members, and a movable lock consisting of a latch mounted to codperate with notches in said leaves which are in register in their normal position so as to hold said members firmly.

4. A last comprising two members, a hinge having its leaves rigidly secured to the respective members, and a latch pivotally mounted in one of said leaves and having the head thereof shaped and situated so as to en gage with notches in said leaves which are in register in their normal position so as to hold the members in their extended position.

5. A last comprising two members, a hinge composed of two pivotally-connected leaves rigidly secured to their respective members, a movable lock cooperating directly with and re acting between the leaves of said hinge in its normal position to hold such members firmly in their extended position, a spring tending to hold such lock in its normal position, and means for moving the lock against the spring.

6. A last comprising two members, a hinge having its leaves rigidly secured to the re-' spective members, a latch pivotally mounted in one of said leaves, and having the head shaped and situated so as to cooperate with notches in said leaves which are in register in their normal position so as to hold said members in their extended position, a spring mounted in the leaf and cooperating with the latch to hold it in its normal position, and means for moving the latch against the spring.

7. A last comprising the heel portion 13 and the toe portion A with the hinge K having its leaves projecting into said portions for the purposes described, said leaves and their cooperating sockets in saidyportions having the cross-section formed by two slightly-intercepting circles, substantially as described.

8. The combination of the stand having its .pins H and Y, with the last having the two members pivotally connected for the purposes described, a lock operating to hold the two members rigidly in their normal position, and

the apertures cooperating with the pins H and Y, the one to support the last, and the other to release the lock, substantially as described.

9. The combination of the stand having a pin projecting therefrom, with the lock having the two members pivotally connected for .the purposes described, a lock operating to hold the two members rigidly in their normal 10 parts are in alineinent, the lever and head being so shaped as to preserve the uniformity of outline of the hinge.

In witness whereof we have hereunto affixed our signatures, this 26th day of February, 1898, in the presence of two witnesses. I 5

ARTHUR G. LEONARD. LEVI O. KENTON. Witn'essesi CLARENCE H. DOLLMEYER5 CHAS. A. LINDBERG. 

